November 2023 Grocery Challenge

JingsMyBucket

Soontobeoap said:

 Also been struggling to find suet so bought that. When did a small box reach £2.50? I only buy once in a blue moon so that was a shock! 

@Soontobeoap I was just browsing through the Farm Foods flyer last night and saw they have 250g of lard for 49p. Hopefully that helps you and others who are diving into holiday baking.

2Scratters

@Pennypincin re the plastic tubs I would ask any friends if they have too many of saved takeaway trays, they may be happy to off load a few. Also I just use a sharpie pen and write on the top. When item is used I just use my nail varnish remover to rub off (I do wait till there are a few tops first)

I have purchased a couple of TGTG bags - 1 not so good but took a chance on a 2nd to give benefit of doubt as the store and staff are new to it. It was a good move to do that they did good. Many items in the freezer for now. 


2 Scratters xx

weenancyinAmerica

Hi, I just use rubbing alcohol (white spirits) to take off the writing. Works if you get the wrong marker on a whiteboard also. 

Soontobeoap

£7.50 spent today on tissues (its that time of year again),milk and cheese. Cupboards are very bare but holding out. We will need one more Aldi shop before end of month though! 

leftatthetrafficlights

Came in at just over £164 this month - not as good as I hoped but not too bad! 

CRANKY40

Good morning, 

The teen has submitted a slightly less difficult assignment and has until the middle of December to do the next one so we can breathe again. Grocery shopping this week came to £70.64, the total for the month so far is £222.78/£320.00. Anything left after next Monday's shop can go into the Christmas pot. 

For dinners this week we have had sausage, cheesy beans, toast and hash browns on Monday, chicken pasta bake on Tuesday (made by me and frozen), pizza yesterday and tonight will be spag bol also made by me and frozen. NSD days are up to 18 if I include today. I made a lemon drizzle cake for a friend's birthday on Tuesday which was handed over yesterday. I made the full recipe which should be a traybake but fills my two small square cake tins so I have a lemon drizzle cake too. Definitely a win 😁

Take care all of you 😊

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone, as expeted I had £90 left over form the budget this month so it's being rolled over into next month.  Had a chat with DH after I looked at our budget annually and got the shock of my life and we are reducing the grocery budget to £180 per month.  

@goldfinches, I love that you have a baking budget.  Do you bake every week?  What do you make?  I love baking (more than cooking) but don't do as much as I'd like.  I really should pioritise it more as I prefer homemade treats rather than bought ones.

thriftwizard

After today's supermarket raid (currently, and sadly, staying out of the local shops so I can keep track better) I have £19.41 left for the rest of the month. Tomorrow's market shop will mostly just be fish & fruit; the meal plan is already worked out to see us through to payday next Thursday so that should be do-able. Fingers crossed! I'll be able to loosen the reins a bit next month, now I have the measure of what we need for just 3 of us here most of the time.

I'm another re-user of tubs & sharpie-wielder - occasionally I think I should go & get some "official" tubs but - why bother, when the ex-take-away ones work perfectly well?!

joedenise

Popped into Sainsbury and picked up a leg of lamb in their half price offer to put in the freezer taking my spend so far to £75.78/£200 leaving £124.22 for shopping while we're away next week.  There is a separate budget for eating out and visits etc so should easily be doable.  I will be taking a few things with us as we are self catering - things like S&P; gravy granules, washing up liquid and sponge as these are the sorts of things that never seem to be provided and add a lot to the shopping if you need to buy them!

JingsMyBucket

Hey y'all. We've spent a lot over the past couple weeks... to the point where I'm wondering if I'm over counting an amount somewhere. One particular highlight was scoring a YS very large duck crown from M & S. I stuffed that in the freezer for New Year's Day. 

Anyway, American Thanksgiving is today but we're doing it as a Sunday lunch this weekend. We had a flub up with Tesco this morning. It was our main turkey order.... but there was no turkey in order. Oy vey! Mr. Jings went out this evening and bought a turkey at Tesco. There weren't any regular frozen whole turkeys so Mr. Jings had to get a frozen bronze turkey because those were the only whole ones available. It's smaller than I'd like and likely less fatty so I'll have to adjust my roasting time so it doesn't dry out. Any tips? 

£435.14 / £425.00 spent. £10.14 over budget. 

We'll likely need milk and a few other items before next Friday, December 1st. The main task is to keep the overage to a minimum now.